


erase the slate

by izadreamer



Series: Internal Tangles [4]
Category: Tangled (2010), Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Betrayal, Character Study, During Canon, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Guilt, Male-Female Friendship, Moving On, Resolution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 02:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14761148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izadreamer/pseuds/izadreamer
Summary: In the wake of Varian’s betrayal, it is normal for one to harbor misplaced feelings of guilt.





	erase the slate

It sounds like a bad joke, is the thing. Like some sort of absurd scenario Eugene came up with when tipsy in the early morning, a ‘what-if’ so out-there and unbelievable that you couldn’t help but laugh at it. Like Rapunzel thinking boo was a cheer, or that guillotines were for cutting vegetables, or that pranks meant doing something nice for someone. Funny, but so far off the mark it couldn’t help but be utterly and completely ridiculous.

It sounds like a bad joke, but it’s not, and in that light it really isn’t funny at all.

“Varian has betrayed the Kingdom of Corona and stolen the Sundrop Flower.”

Even though she knows it’s the truth, even though she is one of the first to have figured it out, Cassandra almost laughs.  _ That Varian?  _ some small, naive part of her wants to say.   _ Surely you mean someone else. _

They don’t, that time. Nor do they mean some other kid when that crime turns into, “Varian has attacked Corona,” and then “Varian has kidnapped the Queen,” or—

All the same. Varian, betrayer to the crown. Varian, the alchemist. Varian, the fourteen-year-old well-intentioned kid who just wanted to show off for his crush and make his dad proud. That Varian.

It’d been easy, during the investigation, to speculate. To hear that hey, someone gave Pete the guard some laced cookies, doesn’t the method sound similar to—

And Varian, he has reason to be angry at Rapunzel. It makes sense, maybe, that he would be lashing out at her.

It’s easy to live in the moment, to do as she was taught and follow the clues to their logical conclusion. But after everything is over, after the Sundrop Flower has been stolen and Rapunzel is locked once more in a tower, Cassandra shipped off to covenant because she dared to let the princess go outside like a regular person… then, her bags packed and weapons taken, that is when it hits her.

Varian—that boy who helped her clean an entire castle for no other reason than that he liked her, who named an element after her and smiled like the sun when she gave him a compliment—that same boy has drugged half the population of the castle, incited their Crown Princess to commit treason, and stolen the most powerful artifact in the kingdom. 

Cassandra cannot help but think that she should have seen this coming. That she should have…  _ known _ , somehow, that this was going to happen. It’s the duty of the guard to find and eliminate threats to the peace, but Cassandra had looked Varian in the eye and let an enemy through their gates without a second thought.

She was the one who introduced Rapunzel to Varian in the first place. It was Cassandra who brought Varian here, who gave him an in to the castle. It was Cassandra, too, that looked at this boy and called him kind.

Was she wrong then? She must have been, knowing what she does now, but the thought makes her stomach twist, because— because remembering that day, nothing seems out of place. Varian had stuttered and smiled and laughed, and he’d been so kind—truly kind, helping Cassandra finish her chores with a childish glee out of place for such menial work. When Cassandra had turned her back on him, chosen ambition over friendship, he hadn’t been angry. Just… sad. Above all else, understanding, face fallen in disappointment but still trying to wave off the sting of Cassandra’s betrayal.

_ It’s okay! I’ll… I’ll just find a new assistant. _

And even after all that, he’d still named the element after her. He’d still given her the necklace. He’d still called them friends.

What happened to that boy? Where did he go? Or is this, has this always been there, inside Varian, and maybe the difference isn’t that he has lost himself, but rather, that they have lost him. He will not call them his friends any longer. His kindness vanished with his good will.

Is it Cassandra’s fault? Logic says no: no, it’s not her fault, but she can’t shake the feeling. Maybe if she’d been a better friend from the start… maybe if she’d followed him into that hall,  been there when he begged Rapunzel for help, and gone with him in Rapunzel’s stead. Maybe if she’d pushed Rapunzel to visit him sooner… maybe if she’d known…

Maybe, maybe, maybe. What does it matter? The past is out of reach and the present is in the here and now, and in the here and now Varian is not the kind, forgiving boy she knew. He is not her friend. He is an enemy now, an enemy to the crown but more importantly an enemy to Rapunzel. 

Cassandra… she feels sorry for Varian. Truly she does. But Varian has only been her friend for a few short months—and Rapunzel, Rapunzel is her best friend, her charge, her Queen-to-be. There was never any contest to who Cassandra would choose. And Varian… no matter how sorry she feels, it changes nothing. He has lost his father, his family, the same as so many others, but he has taken that grief and made it into a weapon. He has stolen the Sundrop Flower. He has attacked the kingdom, injured innocent people. He has kidnapped the Queen.

Worst of all, he has hurt Rapunzel—and this crime above all else Cassandra can never forgive.

When her father gives command of the attack on Old Corona to her, Cassandra does not falter. She draws her sword and swears her oath, and is gratified to see the others rally with her. She rides into battle with her head high.

And when Varian emerges from the ruins of his home, in that awful metal automaton, his face twisted in rage and hatred—Cassandra raises her sword and does not hesitate.

He was her friend, once. No longer. 

Cassandra has no more time for regret.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I love Cass. I wish the show had given more attention to how she felt about Varian’s betrayal. I mean, they had a whole friendship-bonding episode together, you know? It was fun trying to explore what she might think and feel about Varian after he betrays Corona. I felt that ultimately, while she might feel guilty or a little torn at first, she would eventually push the past aside. Varian used to be her friend, but now he is Rapunzel’s enemy, and that means Cass has no mercy left for him. Rapunzel will always be first priority.
> 
> That was my view on it, anyway. What do you guys think?
> 
> [Link to Rec and Reblog?](http://izaswritings.tumblr.com/post/174276799382/title-erase-the-slate-synopsis-in-the-wake-of) Also, if you have any questions or just want to talk, [my tumblr](http://izaswritings.tumblr.com) is always open!!
> 
> Any thoughts?


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